


Steadier Footing

by meet_me_onthe_equinox



Category: Parks and Recreation, parks and rec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 02:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11072433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meet_me_onthe_equinox/pseuds/meet_me_onthe_equinox
Summary: Weird things happen at high school reunions.





	Steadier Footing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lunabelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunabelle/gifts).



> Requested by lunabelles on Tumblr as ''meeting again at a high school reunion.'' I changed that a bit, but I think the essence of the prompt is still there :)

The night was going great for Andy. Free food? Check. Free drinks? Check. But the best part of it was getting to see his high school friends once again after almost a decade. They hadn’t changed much, really, except for those who already had a family and a terrible job to feed its members. But that night, there would be no kids at all. That night, they all had the chance to be seventeen again. Their only responsibility was to have fun.

Except there were actually some differences between then and now. For instance, Andy wasn’t one for exercise, so he’d lost most of his shape. Not that he was super fit back then, but now he couldn’t even dance for one hour without ending up panting for breath. Also, the color lights they had installed all over the gym ceiling were making him even sweatier than usual. And all those beers he’d had weren’t helping either. Thus, he decided to go out for some fresh air before he threw up in the punch bowl.

It took some time for Andy’s eyes to refocus and get used to the dimly lit parking lot. When they finally did, he looked around, his hot skin welcoming the chilly breeze of the night. For some reason, seeing all their cars there instead of the teacher’s made him chuckle. Back then, none of them could wait to get their license. Now, almost all of them had. They were adults now, whatever that was.

So, with that in mind, there shouldn’t be anyone hanging around the little park on the right of the soccer field. Andy narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out whether there was actually a person sitting on one of the swings, or it was just a shadow. Apparently, he had terrible eyesight: there was no way to tell unless he got closer. So, he did.

As Andy approached the playground –why they had installed such a thing in a high school full of apathetic teens was beyond him, but he wasn’t going to complain–, it became clear that there _was_ someone there. It was a girl. Small, skinny, and seemingly wearing all black. She was having a smoke; the red spot glowing in the burning end of the cigarette moved along with her waving hand.

‘‘Hi,’’ she said.

‘‘Hi,’’ Andy’s feet sank in the grainy sand when he stepped in. ‘‘Do you mind if I…’’ he pointed towards the other swing.

‘‘Go ahead.’’

Andy sat on the free swing and then looked at her again, his eyes now accustomed to the darkness.

‘‘Not that I have the greatest memory,’’ he piped up, ‘‘but I don’t remember you at all.’’

‘‘That’s ‘cause I wasn’t in your class,’’ she sighed. She didn’t seem very pleased to be there. How could she not be having fun? ‘‘I’m just here for my boyfriend.’’

‘‘Who is he?’’

‘‘Derek.’’

‘‘Derek… Miller?’’

What a jerk. Him and his group of jocks were probably the only people Andy hadn’t talked to that night. He’d never liked them, and he liked everyone.

‘‘Yeah,’’ she puffed at her cigarette and then offered it to Andy.

‘‘No thanks. I quit last winter,’’ he said proudly.

She shrugged and took one last drag before tossing the butt to the ground.

‘‘I did go to this school, though. I’m just a couple years younger than you guys.’’

‘‘So,’’ Andy put two and two together, ‘‘you have no friends in there?’’

‘‘And you do?’’ she asked bitterly.

‘‘Of course. I mean, we haven’t seen each other in a while but-‘’

‘‘Super friends then,’’ she muttered in a way that made Andy think she didn’t really think so.

A moment of silence followed her comment, only broken by the muffled sound of the music coming from the gym.

‘‘I’m Andy Dwyer, by the way.’’

‘‘April.’’

‘‘Cool.’’

And, for some reason, that made her smile. She rolled her lips and gazed down as her feet played with the sand bellow.

‘‘So, _Andy Dwyer_. Who are you exactly?’’

‘‘Well, you just said it,’’ that chick was confusing.

‘‘I mean… Ugh, never mind.’’

‘‘Oh, right!’’ he got it at last. ‘‘Well, I’ve lived in Pawnee my whole life. I’m in a band…’’

‘‘What’s it called?’’

‘‘Mouse Rat.’’

‘‘Cool,’’ she quoted him.

‘‘How about you?’’

‘‘Well, we came from Bloomington. I’m studying vet there.’’

‘‘Like, with animals and stuff? That’s awesome!’’

‘‘That’s what I thought at first. But I hate it there.’’

‘‘Why?’’

‘‘It’s not… I just…’’ she tried to find the right words, although not without difficulty. It was as if she’d never considered it, as if she’d never talked about that before. ‘‘It’s just not the right place for me.’’

April looked down again, letting her hair fall like a thick curtain between them. He couldn’t see her eyes, but he did notice her fists clenching firmly on her lap.

‘‘I have this amazing dog,’’ Andy tried to distract her. ‘‘His name is Champion. I bet he’d like you.’’

Andy’s words pulled the curtain behind April’s ear, but had little effect on her sad expression. He wasn’t that good at talking, after all. Well, he talked a lot, but choosing the right words was a complete different thing he was no pro at. Sometimes, it was better to shut your mouth and just act.

Taking a few steps back, he leaned back and then let himself fall on the seat in order to thrust the swing forwards. With that momentum, he rocked back and forth until he was swinging so hard that the iron structure started grinding in pain.

‘‘What are you doing?’’ April asked. Her tone was both scolding and amused. The fact that she was half-smiling again only made Andy swing even higher. He seemed about to loop over the top.

‘‘C’mon. Try it!’’

She pondered it for a while, pursing her lips as if having fun was something one couldn’t just say yes to. Finally, she leaned back and then thrusted herself forward. By repeating the process a few more times, she reached Andy’s pace and height in no time.

Maybe it was the alcohol, the freedom all that speed endowed him with, or the general excitement of the night reaching some kind of climax. Andy wouldn’t know. But he was just so happy in that moment, and felt a strong urge to share it with that strange girl he’d just met.

The next thing he knew, he was whooping into the night, shouting and laughing, and soon enough she joined along, albeit with shier, more restrained cheers.

* * *

‘‘I should probably go back,’’ April said long after the swinging, and long after another conversation that, if anything, had left Andy even more curious about her. ‘‘Derek must be wondering where I am.’’

‘‘Oh, I’ll walk you. I mean, if you want me to.’’

‘‘Okay, weirdo,’’ she laughed.

Once off their swings, they stumbled through the sucking sand until their feet reached solid ground. With steadier footing, the two walked in silence towards the gym’s main door. But even in the wordlessness, Andy felt so comfortable, and maybe something else he wouldn’t have been able to put into words. The truth was that encounter had turned the night even more special for him. He found himself wanting to go back to the park and spend the rest of it there, with her, instead.

He gazed at April once again, only to find his efforts to cheer her up seemed to have worked. Some of his own enjoyment reflected on her expression; she looked willing to let go, to have fun at least. It wouldn’t be with him, though –she’d join Derek as soon as they got inside–, but that was okay. He was just glad he’d met her.

Andy held the door open for her as they entered the building, and she smiled at him awkwardly. It seemed to him that April’s mind went somewhere else for a couple of seconds, like there was something weird about what he’d just done.

When they got to the dance floor, she looked around, obviously looking for her boyfriend. Andy stood by her, giving the place a once-over to help her out. Again, he cursed his poor vision.

‘‘You sure he’s still here?’’ he asked, raising his voice loud enough to be heard over the sound of the music.

April didn’t answer. Instead, she leaned back against Andy’s torso. Her knees buckled right after, and Andy held her instinctively. She was suddenly pale, her gaze fixed on some point across the room. Andy lifted his head and looked in that same direction, only to find Derek… kissing a blond, skinny man. Except it wasn’t just kissing - they were making out hard, as though there was no one else around.

‘‘What the-,’’ Andy began, but April’s shaking body warned him that was not a time for words.

While most of her body wouldn’t stop trembling, certain parts of it were indeed frozen. Her eyes, which wouldn’t blink. Her hands, grasping Andy’s plaid so tightly. Her mouth, permanently agape until she started taking heavy breaths. Had Andy known the word, he would have said she was hyperventilating. It was time to _act_ again.

Still holding her, he gently spun April around and walked her back outside. There was an old, wooden bench next to the wall, and he helped her get there so they both could sit.

April seemed out of it, her wide eyes still fixed on something she wasn’t really seeing. She hadn’t shed a tear, but Andy didn’t think that was a good sign either.

‘‘Hey, April… It’s okay. I’m here.’’

Another bunch of stupid words. Andy lifted one arm, dubiously. It froze in the air for a moment before he finally decided to put it over her shoulders. Slowly, she started breathing more regularly, and eventually her panting stopped. He hugged her a bit tighter and grabbed her hand. It was dead cold. Coming out of her trance, her eyes finally met Andy’s.

‘‘Hey,’’ he welcomed her back.

She pressed herself against him and rested her head on his collarbone. Gladly, he found her convulsions were also gone. Much on the contrary, April had deflated, like there was no energy left in her - even her hand was lifeless in his. Andy felt weird inside, a hot flash radiating from his chest that made him want to go back inside and punch Derek in the face. How was he to know what hate was?

They remained like that for a while, but neither one of them could have measured that time. The stars watched them silently from above.

‘‘Thank you,’’ she said at some point, her voice a bit raspy.

‘‘No problem.’’

‘‘I don’t wanna be here.’’

‘‘Oh. Okay,’’ he let go of April’s hand and took his other arm off her.

That was it. Andy’s time with her was over. He knew they would have to say goodbye, but nothing could have prepared him for what actually doing so felt like.

‘‘No!’’ She reached for his hand. Hers wasn’t that cold anymore.

A hint of embarrassment crossed April’s face, and the paleness of it was replaced by a sudden blush Andy couldn’t help but find adorable.

‘‘I mean,’’ she cleared her throat. ‘‘Could we go somewhere else?’’

 _We_ …

‘‘Oh. Yeah, sure. Want me to take you home?’’

Of course he would drive to Bloomington at two in the morning. Even though his license was crazy expired. Even though that would only buy him a couple more hours.

‘‘No. I won’t go back there unless it’s to pick up my stuff,’’ she sighed. ‘‘I wanna, like, steal his car and never come back. You know? Go somewhere fucking far from here.’’

‘‘Like, the Grand Canyon or something?’’

‘‘Yeah,’’ she almost smiled. ‘‘Something like that.’’

‘‘Say no more. Let’s do it.’’

And, of course, they did.


End file.
